Angela Carter's Book of Wayward Girls and Wicked Women
VIRAGO PRESS
In early 2024, Andrea Zanatelli was approached by Virago Press to design a limited edition of 1,000 copies for Angela Carter's Book of Wayward Girls and Wicked Women. The Virago publishing house was founded by Carmen Callil in 1973 as a feminist publishing company. Inspired by the political and social change of that decade, the women who created Virago believed passionately that writing by women should be celebrated, enjoyed, taken seriously and read widely.
In this collection of classic short stories written by women and originally published in 1986, Angela Carter plays the role of both editor and author, weaving together 18 tales whose narrative thread is one: don't be nice. A wonderful collection celebrating horrific, tenacious, ghostly and cunning female figures. The collection gathers authors of the likes of Leonora Carrington, Colette, Bessie Head, Katherine Mansfield, Luo Shu and several others.
Andrea holds a deep affection for Carter's oeuvre and has a long-standing affinity for gothic literature, drawn to classics such as Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Hence, when asked to dedicate an artwork to Angela Carter's work, the choice fell upon the artwork ‘The Altarpiece’, a fitting match due to its exploration of sorcery and witchcraft which aligns perfectly with the book's themes.
In September 2024 the limited edition was published.
